The new Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I video game was unveiled at Gamescom in Germany, and with Kinect for the Xbox 360 platform, which is a new technology to play it. James and Oliver Phelps tested the Kinect experience, and a video can be seen below.
EA Games' producer Jonathan Bunney was interviewed at Gamescom about the Kinect experience for the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows game.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 is going to use Kinect? How's that going to work?
Jonathan Bunney: It works really well! We put the magic into the player's hands by tracking their physical gestures and poses, firing spells at Voldemort's deadliest henchmen.
Why'd you want to add Kinect to the mix?
Jonathan Bunney: As soon as we saw Kinect in action, the entire team got very excited about the possibilities of controller free gaming, and we knew we could create a really cool, immersive experience unlike any other for Harry Potter.
When did you decide to add it? Was it late in the game or there from the beginning?
Jonathan Bunney: We'd already started building our new engine when we first saw Kinect (Natal) at E3 in 2009, but we were still experimenting with mission designs, spells and other interactions within the core game experience, so it's been able to come together quite smoothly.
So, these are specific challenges? You're not playing the whole third-person spellcaster this way?
Jonathan Bunney: The unique Kinect mode is designed to maximize the technology – we put the magic in the hands of the player, and the game takes control of their movement through the world. We wanted to make a great core game and a great Kinect experience, and not compromise either.
What are some of these challenges?
Jonathan Bunney: The challenges are all scored and recorded on high-score tables on Xbox Live, and range from fighting gangs of snatchers in the Forest of Dean to facing down squads of Death Eaters in Godrics' Hollow, the birthplace of Harry Potter himself.
What is Kinect reading? My hands? My body? Everything?
Jonathan Bunney: Kinect initially looks for your body and maps a skeleton to it. It then specifically reads your arm and body gestures to enable spell casting, and is constantly tracking your skeleton throughout the game.
You talk about it reading gestures; does that mean that I need to draw an "L" in the air to perform certain spells or am I acting like I have a wand in my hand and slashing in certain directions?
Jonathan Bunney: That's right. You need to act like you have a wand in your hand, performing gestures at crucial moments to take care of the enemies all around Harry.
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